Celebrate local waterways

The 20th anniversary of a program to help monitor the health of local waterways will be celebrated with a free community BBQ and family activities.

Melbourne Water will mark the Waterwatch program milestone with events across Greater Melbourne, and a calendar featuring competition-winning photographs.

Waterwatch is a river health education and monitoring program that began in 1993 to increase community understanding and ownership of local rivers and creeks across Victoria.

General Manager of Waterways, David Ryan, said the contribution of volunteers to help keep waterways healthy could not be underestimated.

“Waterwatch volunteers are our eyes and ears in the community, helping us track the health of rivers and creeks,” said Mr Ryan.

“As volunteers build their knowledge of waterways they develop a sense of ownership and become advocates for these treasured community assets. Our 20th anniversary celebrations acknowledge these efforts and we look forward to another 20 years of this valuable program,” he added.

To thank volunteers and celebrate the success of Waterwatch with local communities, three BBQ events will be held across Melbourne Water’s operating regions.

Waterwatch 20th Anniversary Celebrations

When

Saturday 30 November, 12pm – 2pm​

Where

North East - Darebin Parklands, Alphington ​

South East - Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Discovery Centre, Edithvale​

West - Pipemakers Park, Maribyrnong

What

Free community BBQ and fun family activities

In the Port Philip and Westernport region, which covers 12,000 square kilometres and includes 3.6 million people and 8,400 kilometres of waterways, the program is known as Healthy Waterways Waterwatch and is delivered by Melbourne Water, local government and the Department of Environment and Primary Industries.

Waterwatch works with 230 volunteers who monitor 440 sites for frog calls, water bugs populations and water quality.

The 12 winning entries in Melbourne Water’s Waterwatch photography competition have been chosen to feature in a 2014 calendar. Entrants were asked to portray ‘What you love about your waterways’ within their photo and are all residents of Greater Melbourne.